New ‘fat-blocking’ soda from Pepsi released in Japan

New ‘fat-blocking’ soda from Pepsi released in Japan

Pepsi Special (Photo: Pepsi.co.jp)

Pepsi Special (Photo: Pepsi.co.jp)

TOKYO — Fruits, vegetables and wheat bread are all sources of fiber. Now, so is Pepsi-Cola.

In Japan.

PepsiCo Inc. plans to launch a version of its soda with a fat-blocking fiber called dextrin in Japan on Tuesday called Pepsi Special, but the company is yet to fully explain to U.S. media outlets how dextrin will a useful agent to fight fat when fused with its new product.

The drink isn’t the first cola with fiber in Japan. The Japanese company Kirin also offers a sugar-free cola with dextrin. Kirin’s website says the cola is targeted toward health-conscious men in their 30s and older.

While the majority of the United States appears flummoxed by this announcement, the Japanese government is buying it. The government will mark each bottle of Pepsi Special with a FOSHU symbol, which indicates that the drink has been tested and found to contain an “ingredient with functions for health.”

According to the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare website, a FOSHU product is “intended to be consumed for the promotion of health or special health uses by people who wish to control health conditions, including blood pressure or blood cholesterol.”

Representatives for PepsiCo based in Purchase, N.Y. were not available to provide other details about the drink to Forbes on Tuesday.